Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the county did not want to spend the incentive funds needed to lure Amazon.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the county did not want to spend the incentive funds needed to lure Amazon.

Photo: William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

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Officials in San Antonio and Bexar County told Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos this week they don’t intend to bid on the company’s proposed $5 billion second headquarters.

Officials in San Antonio and Bexar County told Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos this week they don’t intend to bid on the company’s proposed $5 billion second headquarters.

Photo: Elaine Thompson /Associated Press

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Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff told Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a letter sent Thursday they weren’t willing to pony up tax incentives to lure the $484 billion company and its second headquarters. less

Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff told Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a letter sent Thursday they weren’t willing to pony up tax incentives to lure the $484 billion company and its second ... more

Photo: Jordan Stead /Amazon /TNS

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“Blindly giving away the farm isn’t our style,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff wrote in a joint letter sent Wednesday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos regarding the company’s proposed second headquarters. less

“Blindly giving away the farm isn’t our style,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff wrote in a joint letter sent Wednesday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos regarding the ... more

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and two officials from the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation hopped on a conference call Sunday.

The topic: how to tell Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that local officials wouldn’t be bidding on his company’s proposed $5 billion second headquarters.

Few expected the San Antonio area to actually land the behemoth $5 billion headquarters and its 50,000, high-paying jobs, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pounced upon by more than 50 U.S. cities. If they did, they thought it was a long shot. Aside from the massive tax incentives that officials would have to pony up to lure the Seattle giant, the city and county would have to grapple with deficits in education attainment, transportation and workforce development that have stymied officials for decades.

On top of that, where would the $481 billion online retailer build the massive campus if the company actually decided to put it in the San Antonio area?

According to Amazon’s public request-for-proposals, the project would need up to 8 million square feet within 10 years, preferably downtown. There’s office development happening in downtown San Antonio but not fast enough to meet Amazon’s target opening date of 2019, said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, CEO of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

It also didn’t help that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie offered to throw in $5 billion in tax incentives to entice Amazon to the Garden State — preceded by Wisconsin’s $3 billion incentive package to Foxconn Technology Group to build a plant that manufactures LCD screens there.

“We just thought that was madness,” Wolff said in a phone interview Thursday. “This is not a game we’re going to gamble with taxpayers’ money.”

Wolff later added, “You’re risking that much money on a company that doesn’t make a profit.”

Turn to Sunday’s Business section or click here to read the full article on ExpressNews.com.